Dominick edged around the room. He wanted the satisfaction of telling this prick what he had done to Sophie but he could see from the man’s face that he would pay dearly for it and Dominick didn’t have time. There would have to be another opportunity. In the meantime he had to get out of there. He slid out his desk drawer and pulled out a.38 he kept for just such a purpose. Then he picked up the phone and called security before Chase could reach him.
Holding the gun on Chase, Dominick continued packing his briefcase with one hand. “I’ll give you a clue, hot shot. Shanna and your sister both entertained some friends of mine out in a certain shack near the cane fields. If you hurry, you might be able to rescue this one.”
Chase bellowed with rage and lunged but just at that moment, security arrived and the guards grabbed him before he could reach the lawyer.
“Thanks Fred. Let him go after I’ve left. Okay? He’s just another upset husband whose wife is cleaning him out.” The guard nodded and Dominick sidled past the furiously struggling Chase. Now that the man was restrained, Dominick’s arrogance reasserted itself and he couldn’t resist a parting shot. “Your sister was a fighter too.”
With an almighty effort, Chase almost succeeded in throwing off his guards, close enough that Dominick quickened his pace. He grinned in satisfaction as he headed down to his car. That would fix the prick for a while.
Fifty-nine
Annie crept up to the cabin. She shivered uncontrollably and it wasn’t the cold. Her body remembered this place even if her mind could block it out. Annie was one of the few people to have kicked the crack habit. Chase, mule-headedness and her money had saved her life. Fortunately for Annie, she hadn't known about the trust fund until after she was in rehab.
Her proximity to this cabin brought back the nightmare of the time she had spent here. She had been forced into such degradation her mind would only skirt the edges even now and then as her habit grew, they didn’t need to force her. She grew bone thin. She forgot to wash and brush her hair. She aged ten years. The only thing she knew was the drug. It controlled her body and dulled her mind. It fed off her and it required feeding voraciously. It was a monster that lived inside her that blocked all thought.
Annie stopped. With shaking hands, she lit a cigarette, careful to hide the flare of light. She smoked rarely, only in moments like this, using the smokes as an asthmatic would a rescue inhaler. She used the time to fight her way back to the present, reciting the litany of all her accomplishments like a mantra. Eventually she calmed and felt in control again.
There was a light on inside but no vehicles around. God help her if there was another poor soul living in there and it seemed that there was. Well, if it wasn’t too late, Annie to the rescue. The bastards wouldn’t turn another woman into a living scarecrow if Annie could help it.
Luckily they had been burning the cane today. The sickly sweet smell was overpowering. The smoke hung over the area like a thick fog obliterating vision in a few yards and the cloying smell clung to her nostrils. Annie sucked it in. It would overpower other smells. This was good.
Annie pulled on a black ski mask she usually wore under her bike helmet. She reached down and picked up a handful of dirt, which she smeared on her face. Feeling better, she remained hidden in the edge of the sugar cane and skirted the cabin. There was no sign of anyone around outside.
Quickly Annie sprinted to the back of the cabin, breathing a sigh of relief as she felt the rough wood rasp against her jacket. She put her back to it and waited for a noise. There was none. Cautiously she edged around the corner and checked the side. Nothing. Returning, she did the same the other side. Still nothing. Annie edged close to the window. Still with her back to the wall, she leaned back with her ear to the wall. She could hear nothing. After another look around, she was convinced no one was around and turning, she hoisted herself up on tiptoe to see if there was a crack in the blackout.
No such luck. She was going to have to do this the hard way. Annie crept around to the front and inspected the door. It was locked and padlocked. No big deal. Annie could get in, but what would she find inside? She slipped her set of picks out of her boot and went to work.
Five minutes later Annie took a deep breath, placed a large set of knuckledusters on her right hand, checked for the knife in her belt and eased open the door. She peered around it and shuddered as she saw the same crude furnishings that had always been here. She could taste the fear that had been aroused in this room over the years. Annie was afraid of nothing any more. Nothing but crack. Annie was ready but her feet were reluctant to go inside. She knew she ran the risk of again smelling the dope, feeling the crack in her nostrils, losing her soul back to the monster.
She bit back her fear. She crawled inside on all fours and pushed the door gently closed behind her, making sure it didn’t latch. She pulled the ski mask over her nose physically trying to block out any hint of drugs that might be lurking in the furniture ready to send her back to hell. Only then did she look around. She already knew the place had not changed so Annie blocked that. She told her mind to accept only what was new and like a laser beam in the darkness, she swung her flashlight directly onto a pile of clothing, feminine clothing. Oh god. Another victim.
Sweeping her light around quickly Annie saw that someone had been here recently. There was a bottle of vodka on the table and a full ashtray. An empty pizza box was thrown in a corner. As she well knew, there was only one other room in this cabin and reluctantly she killed the light and crawled towards the bedroom door.
Sixty
Chase was frantic. That little weasel couldn’t wait to tell him all about it but he didn’t have the guts so Chase would bet that he didn’t actually know where Shanna was. Chase had to meet Joe and the others at the rendezvous but he also had to find Shanna. Finding a shack in the cane fields would be like finding a tick on an elephant.
He would never forgive himself if something happened to Shanna. He should never have dragged her into this. His rage and grief at Sophie’s death had made him careless of the safety of others. Shanna was a gutsy lady but she couldn’t play in this league. He must get to her before that bastard had time to make good his threats.
Damn that little shit to hell. If he didn’t have Shanna, Chase would have carved him into little pieces a bit at a time, even if he had to hold off an entire police department to do it. It was not in Chase’s nature to control his actions and Dominick’s revelations that he had caused Sophie’s death had driven Chase beyond the edge. Only the restraint of the security guards had forced him to calm down.
Chase checked his watch. He had a couple of hours, but to do what? Annie. Of course. Annie and Chase had no secrets. He remembered now. When he had visited her in rehab, Annie was cowering in a corner, sobbing with fear, eyes wild and terrified. Chase had persuaded the nurses to let him stay and try to calm her before they gave her any sedation and the whole terrible story had come out. Annie had endured horrors that no human being should have to go through and they had happened at a shack in the cane fields. Good Christ almighty. The Skulls had Shanna. Chase’s fury turned cold and deadly. He knew that Rose saw it in his eyes as she let him into Annie’s office.
Rose backed up a step as he almost exploded into the office. “Chase? What’s the matter, has something happened to Annie?”
“Not that I know of. Where is she?” Chase tried to leash back his anger. He knew that in this mood the bravest of souls found him intimidating at the least.
“I haven't heard from her in a while. She took off this afternoon to some bar, checking up on a lead she got.”
“Something to do with Sophie’s case?”
“Yes. And then she called in later saying that she would be out at the Skulls Club for a while.”
Chase knew where the club was. The Skulls had tried to recruit him a few years back and Chase had exerted all his diplomacy in refusing their off
er. Since then they had maintained a wary respect with each other. It wouldn’t do him any good, however, no one out there would even acknowledge existence of the shack, let alone tell him where it was.
Chase gazed at Rose thoughtfully. It followed that this shack must be reasonably close to the club. Far enough away not to be detected and close enough that they could shuttle back and forth without too much inconvenience.
“Rose, have you got a map showing where the Skull’s Club is?”
“I can do better than that. We have aerial photographs of that whole area. Annie got them some time ago when there was a murder out there we were working on. Is something going on out there, is Annie in trouble?” Rose asked anxiously.
“No, no.” Chase soothed her. “I haven't been in touch with Annie. I’m sure she’s fine. She and I were working on different angles.”
Although trying to soothe Rose, Chase’s demeanor was still all icy control and Rose became nervous, frantically digging through a file cabinet to find the photos. In the end she just threw everything out of it and scrabbled triumphantly on the carpet. “Here. I knew we had them.” She waved them at Chase who grabbed them, spreading them out on Annie’s desk.
“Rose, get me a magnifying glass please.”
“Sure thing. Coming up.”
Chase poured over the photographs but there were so many, he would run out of time.
“What are you looking for, perhaps I can help?” Rose was hovering behind Chase, trying to see over his shoulder.
Chase straightened up and looked at her. “Are these things marked in any way so you know which is what?”
“Sure. We have them cross-referenced. You see this number in the corner? I have a full description in the computer filed under that number.”
Chase silently thanked the god of technology and his efficient assistant, Rose.
“Well, fire that thing up and tell me which photograph the Skull’s club house is on.”
“Sure thing, boss.” Rose scrambled back to her treasured machine. She pushed buttons and clicked things with competent ease and seconds later the magical information appeared on her screen. “Got it. Looks like it’s on EY7.” Rose came scurrying back to Annie’s desk and shuffling through photographs she grabbed one by the corner. “Bingo.”
Chase went over it with the magnifying glass, inch by inch. Finally he looked up with a twisted grin that would have frozen the devil himself. “Map?”
Rose hastily spread out the map and Chase made a few notes. He folded up the map and slid it into his jacket pocket.
“Got to go, Rose. Thanks.”
“Wait.” Rose hurried after him to the door. “You’ll let me know later, I mean,” Rose stammered, “I haven't heard from Annie. I’m going to wait here until she calls in.”
Chase laid a hand on her arm. “Sure Rose. Be cool. I’m sure Annie is okay but I’ll check back in with you as soon as I can, okay?”
“Thank you.” Rose adjusted her glasses and went back to her desk.
Chase fired up the panhead and roared off towards the glades.
Sixty-one
Brian had a little time to kill before he could go out to the laboratory. He had spent the afternoon obliterating any signs of his presence. The black Ford Explorer had been returned and Brian had been downtown to Clematis Street and “borrowed” a black Camaro for tonight’s expedition. Brian spent a lot of his life waiting. That’s what he did, eighty percent waiting, twenty percent action, but tonight he was having a hard time. He had been inactive for too long and he could not stand to be so any longer. The Camaro handled beautifully and Brian decided to tool around for a while. He would check out all his areas of investigation and see if anything was happening anywhere.
Hickman’s house was a bedlam of noise. As Brian cruised by he saw that Alicia Hickman was not wasting any time grieving over the loss of a husband. She had a socialite lawn party in full swing. There must be two hundred people wandering over her beautifully manicured lawns and there was a swing band belting out Glen Miller of all things, loud enough to be heard in West Palm. Nothing here.
Brian wound down the windows, enjoying the balmy night air. He crossed back to the mainland and headed south, cruising just below the speed limit. A little while later he passed the Turtle Rescue Center. It too was dark and empty looking. Apparently no one tended the baby turtles at night. Brian kept driving south.
Some twenty minutes later Brian pulled into the parking lot of Dominick’s office building. He parked unobtrusively between two vans and sauntered towards the walkway. He intended only to case out the lobby. There would be few people around at this time of day and Brian did not intend to be remembered by anyone but when he got there Brian was surprised to find the place quite busy. So much for the myth of lazy American workers.
Changing plans, Brian nodded casually to the security guard and walked purposefully to the elevators. Five minutes later he was inside Dominick’s office. A cursory glance told him there was probably nothing new to be found but just on the off chance he would check the phones. He already knew that Dominick taped all conversations that came in on his private line. He spent a few minutes listening to a sickening conversation between Dominick and some woman friend and then his interest quickened as he listened to the next call.
Brian recognized the voice. He had heard it before. The guy in the leather duster. Dominick was not too smart for a lawyer. He had caller ID. A moment later Brian had the number where the call had originated. Quickly he whipped out a handy little gadget that was worth its weight in gold and attached it to Dominick’s phone. He dialed and within moments had the address he needed.
Brian checked his watch. He had time. The address was a bar outside of town. With a little luck leather duster might still be there. Might as well check it out. It would give the Camaro a good run.
Sixty-two
Annie opened the door and shone her flashlight directly on the area where she knew the bed was, fully intending to blind the occupant into freezing like a rabbit caught in headlights. She succeeded. Tousled red gold hair and enormous gray eyes sprang into view. The eyes were terrified but defiant and not a sound came from their owner.
Chase’s new lady. Good for you girl, Annie thought. Chase would never pick a broad without grit. He had fine taste, that one. Annie put down the flashlight and set to work with her knife on the ropes. She realized that to Shanna she must look almost as terrifying as Jack the Ripper. She grinned, making matters worse.
“Cavalry to the rescue. It’s your lucky day, sweet pea.” Annie replaced the knife while she waited for Shanna to get up.
Shanna eyed Annie warily as she frantically rubbed circulation back into her wrists. “Who are you?”
Annie touched her forehead in mock salute. “Right now, I’m your best buddy and we don’t have time to chat. Save it till we get out of here, okay?”
Shanna was now rubbing her ankles. “Beat you to the door.”
Annie reluctantly admired the bravado. She would dearly love to dislike this girl. Women with looks, brains and guts were just too much. Where had lil ole Annie been when the looks were handed out? She picked up Shanna’s clothes and threw them to her. “Grab these, but don’t wait to put them on. We have to make tracks. Now.”
Annie turned and headed out the cabin. She could feel Shanna so close behind, her breath was warm on Annie’s neck. They almost collided when Annie stopped at the door. “On second thought, you’ve pretty fair skin, you’ll light up out there like neon. Put something on but hurry.”
Cautiously Annie opened the door and reconnoitered while Shanna fumbled behind her with her clothes. “Ready yet?” Annie whispered urgently not taking her eyes from the scene outside.
“Ready.”
“Shit.” Annie backed up a little, partially closing the door.
“What?” This time Shanna did bump into her.
“What?” Shanna had enough spunk left to be demanding.
“Cool it. Your boyfriend’s back.” Annie replied calmly.
“Well for god’s sake we can’t stay here, we’re trapped.” Shanna sounded like she was going to lose it any minute. She made a break for the door.
Annie’s hand snaked out and grabbed Shanna by the hair.
“Quiet. He’ll hear you. Get back in the bedroom. Here, watch through the door while I try the window.” Annie pulled a small can of oil out of her jacket. Gently she pried the window with her knife where the paint had sealed it shut and followed it with oil. Then she pushed. Nothing. She tried again and pushed harder, praying.
“Hurry.” Shanna was getting frantic. “I hear someone coming.”
Annie switched from prayers to curses. The window started to give. Annie eased it up, teasing it slowly. Her muscles strained and under her breath she dared it to squeak in language even she had forgotten she knew.
Breathing heavily but triumphant she turned to Shanna. “Quick. Don’t make a sound. When you get out, stay in the cane field close to the road. It looks bad, but if you push through the first yard or so you’ll find an irrigation ditch running the length of the field. My bike is almost at the end. Can you drive a bike?”
Shanna shook her head. “He’s at the door.” Shanna sounded terrified again.
“Go.” Said Annie urgently.
Shanna left her post behind the bedroom door and climbed quickly to the windowsill. “What about you?”
“Just go. If I don’t come out in a few moments hide in the cane until morning. No matter what. Now.” Annie started closing the window, forcing Shanna to let go. She watched as Shanna looked up at her, face taut with indecision and then ran, heading for the cane field. Annie started to open the window again and heard a key turn in the lock behind her.
Sixty-three
Myles had been busy. If Dominick was bailing out, that meant he had the formula, but only for the diamonds. Myles was certain that Dominick had no inkling whatsoever there was anything else. The double cross was bad enough but it could be contained, unless Dominick had the storm machine prototype. He had access to the compound and it was something Dominick would do. Dominick could convince the South Africans a whole lot easier if he could demonstrate Myles’ diamond-making machine. Nevertheless, Myles was not overly concerned. The trap was set and Dominick would come and if he had the machine he would keep it close. Dominick would show up at the lab tonight.
Yokche:The Nature of Murder Page 22